Leverage seat lifts



July 5, 1966 R. 5. WEST 3,259,427

LEVERAGE SEAT LIFTS Filed on. 18, 1965 INVENTOR Ray 5. Wiesf ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,259,427 LEVERAGE SEAT LIFTS Ray S. Wiest, 1927 Upper Front St., RD. 4, Binghamton, N.Y. Filed Oct. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 497,259 9 Claims. (Cl. 297--183) This invention concerns seat lifts for use by people experiencing difficulty in raising themselves from sitting to standing positions. Disclosed herein are easily transportable seat cushions which may be placed upon all types of chairs.

Persons suffering from many physical maladies often experience great difficulty in rising from sitting to standing position. Arthritics and persons having back and leg infirmities as well as loss of control and general weakening of muscles experience difficulty in flexing their knees and in initiating movements toward standing. In the past, these difficulties have been recognized, and several devices have been designed to assist in raising persons to their feet. Known devices are so cumbersome, however, as to make their use inconvenient. Moreover, the complex nature of useful devices makes their transportation difficult, and they are not constructed for use with conventional chairs.

This invention provides a compact device which may be either carried under the arm of a user or carried by a convenient handle. Before sitting down, the user places the seat lift on the seat of a chair. Levers are attached to the seat lift just before the person desires to stand. Pushing downward on the levers raises the back of the seat lift and urges the person toward a standing position. From that point with the knees partially straightened and with the lower body of the person raised from the chair, minimum physical effort is required in continuing to rise to a standing postion while dropping the levers. The seat lift is picked up, the levers are removed and folded, and the lift is ready to be carried to its next point of use. Leverage seat lifts may be provided in offices, clinics, hospitals and institutions where semi-invalids are present. In permanent installations forward lower edges of seats may be hinged to supporting chairs. Since the lifts are collapsible and portable, they may be carried from chair to chair by the user.

Seat lifts may be constructed of wooden slabs, with apertures to receive levers, or the bodies .may be made of reinforced foraminous plywood, plastic, Fiberglas or metal. Upper portions of seats may be padded and upbolstered.

It is an object of this invention to provide a seat lift for infirm persons.

This invention has a another object the provision of a seat which may be tilted by levers.

This invention has as a further objective the provision of a compact leverage seat lift which may be used upon any chair.

Another objective of this invention is the provision of a seat cushion which aids in the elevation of a person to a standing position.

Further objectives of this invention will be apparent from the specification and from the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a chair and seat lift, illustrating use of the lift;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view of a seat lift and levers used for tilting the seat;

FIGURE 3 is a detail drawing of the levers shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of one alternate form of the invention in which levers may be pulled upwardly to raise the back of a seat.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a chair is generally indicated ice by the numeral 10. Upon seat 15 of chair 10 rests seat lift 20. Levers 30 extend forward from seat lift 20. A person may lean forward and graps free ends 35 of levers 3ft. Pushing downward on the lever ends 35 raises the back of seat lift 20 and urges a person seated thereon toward a standing position. Thus, a seated woman leans forward to graps levers 30 as shown in position 1. Pushing downward on the levers 30, and continuing leaning forward, the womans knees are partially straightened and the lower portion of her body is raised, as shown in phantom lines as position 2. After raising the body and straightening the knees to a point where muscular control can finish the job of standing, the woman releases levers 30 and stands erect as shown in position 3.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of seat lift. 20. Rigid base 22 has three rectangular holes substantially'extending from front to back and opening in the front face of seat base 22. Holes 26 receive two levers 36. Alternatively, one broader, stouter lever may be inserted in hole 28 when the seat is used by men or when the lever is pushed with one hand.

Seat 24) may be constructed with a flat rigid base 18 X 18" x A corresponding cushion may be bound to the top of the base, and a soft covering on the bottom of the base protects chair seats. Holes 26 and 28 are respectively two and four inches wide. Levers are about thirty inches long and two inches wide for side levers and four inches wide for a single central lever.

Lever 36 is divided into two portions 38 and 39, which are joined by hinge 37. The later portion 39 extends into seat 20, while portion 38 extends outwardly. If levers 36 are inserted in seat 20 while it is being used, outer portion may be folded upwardly out of the way. Handles 33 facilitate use of the levers while tilting seat 20.

An alternate form of the invention is shown in FIGURE 4. Seat 40 comprises a base portion 42 and an upholstered upper portion 41. Pins 43 extend laterally from base 42 slightly offset from the center of seat 40. Handles 55 may be open loops; pulling upward on handles 55 and on levers 50 causes the remote ends of levers 50 to act as fulcrums. Pins 43 are lifted, and seat 40 tilts forwardly about its forward lower edge. As levers 50 and seat 40 counterrotate, pins 43 slide in slot 53. Levers 50 may be hinged along their lower edge so that the outer portions of the lever drop towards the floor when not in use. Lateral outward movement of levers 50 detaches them from pins 43 and from seat 40.

Although this invention has been described by specific embodiments, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that many modifications may be constructed without departing from the invention. The scope of this invention is defined only in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A seat lift comprising:

a base having a lower portion for resting upon a seat of a chair, an upper portion for supporting a body of a user, connection means communicating with an exterior of said base, and a transverse axis fixed with respect to the chair; at least one lever connected to said means for tilting said base about said transverse axis thereof.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said connection means comprises at least one hole extending into said base for receiving said at least one lever partially within said base.

3. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said connection means extends from said base remote from the said transverse axis whereby operation of said lever raises said connection means and the remainder of said base with respect to said axis.

4. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said axis coincides with a lower forward edge of said base.

5. A leverage seat lift comprising:

a seat portion having top, bottom, opposite sides, front and back faces.

at least one lever mounted on said seat, said lever having a first portion extending into said seat in a front to back direction and having a second portion extending from said seat, whereby forced vertical movement of said at least one lever tilts said seat portion about a forward lower edge of said seat portion, thereby raising the back of the seat portion and at least partially lifting a person sitting on said seat toward a standing position.

6. A leverage seat lift comprising:

a rectangular base having front, back, and opposite sides and being configured to rest wholly upon conventional chairs,

at least one lever having a first portion connected to said base and having a second portion extending forwardly of saidbase,

whereby forced vertical movement of said second portion of said at least one lever raises the rear of said base and pivots said base about a forward lower edge thereof, thereby raising a person seated on said base toward a standing position.

7. Apparatus of claim 6 wherein said base further comprises openings substantially extending from front to back for receiving said at least one lever.

8. Apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a hinge mounted on said lever between said first and second portions allowing relative rotation of said portions in an upward direction.

9. A leverage seat lift comprising:

a rectangular base having t-op, bottom, front, back and sides, said front defining a lurality of openings extending into said base parallel to said sides and terminating within said base adjacent the back thereof,

a chair-protecting cover attached to said bottom,

a cushion attached to said top,

at least one lever having a first portion positioned within at least one of the openings, and having a second portion extending forwardly from said base, whereby, when said seat lift is resting on a chair, downward force upon said at least one lever at an end thereof remote from said base raises the back of said base, and partially lifts a person seated on said cushion to a standing position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,685,398 8/1954 King 108-55 2,920,683 1/1960 Moster 297-313 2,959,792 11/1960 Haugard 5-81 X 3,052,894 9/1962 Bigger 5-81 3,158,398 11/1964 Stryker 297-337 X FOREIGN PATENTS 766,163 1/1957 Great Britain. 949,995 2/ 1964 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

30 J. T. MCCALL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SEAT LIFT COMPRISING: A BASE HAVING A LOWER PORTION FOR RESTING UPON A SEAT OF A CHAIR, AN UPPER PORTION FOR SUPPORTING A BODY OF A USER, CONNECTION MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH AN EXTERIOR OF SAID BASE, AND A TRANSVERSE AXIS FIXED WITH RESPECT TO THE CHAIR; AT LEAST ONE LEVER CONNECTED TO SAID MEANS FOR TILTING SAID BASE ABOUT SAID TRANSVERSE AXIS THEREOF. 